Swedish research group says China now world’s No. 2 arms spender behind U.S.
By Malin Rising, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, June 6, 2009
STOCKHOLM – China has become the world’s second biggest military spender behind the United States, a Swedish peace research group said Monday.
Global arms spending rose four per cent last year, but China increased its spending by 10 per cent to an estimated $84.9 billion last year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its annual report on world arms transfers.
“China is continuing to acquire both domestic and foreign arms as it seeks to equip its armed forces for conditions of modern ‘informationalized’ warfare,” it said. Such warfare involves the use of precision weapons and high-tech information and communications technology.
The United States continued to top the rankings by a wide margin, with its military expenditure rising 9.7 per cent last year to $607 billion, the institute said. It said the U.S. accounted for nearly 42 per cent of the total global arms spending of $1.46 trillion.